"The Persuaders - Chapter 5" by Laura de Lange

5. The End

Since time immemorial, they have fought. Some say it started because the Drayons stole some land from their Furen cousins, others claim that the Furen betrayed the Drayon and killed their chief. But everyone agreed that the beautiful country of Transrune was not big enough for both tribes.

Grandmother Natalie sat comfortably in her chair, basking in the warmth of the fire and the smells of cooking that drifted from the kitchen. It was times like these that she could forget the pains of her old body and the sorrows of her old heart. She looked at the gaggle of young Draygons staring up at her with expectant expressions, waiting for her to tell them a story.

“Once upon a time, long, long ago, our people came to Transrune on the back of Giant Sea Turtles,” she stopped when she saw some disbelieving expressions, “Well, that’s what I was told when I was a girl. Now, my children tell me we got here on huge boats, as big as a small country, filled with amazing treasures and glorious people. People who would bravely fight against the Furen and make out nation Great.”

“But I prefer my story. Our ancestors all arrived on the back of Giant Sea Turtles. Some were big enough to carry a whole homestead, others were just big enough for a family and some were so small that only one Draygon child could ride on its back. For weeks they travelled from the Green Land to come to Transrune, their passengers often suffering hunger and thirst, but knowing that it would be worth it. They landed with nothing but the clothes on their back. They had to work hard for everything they got. This made them tough, intelligent, independent and resourceful.”

“For a while they lived happily at the coast, but soon began to feel the itch to move, to explore and to grow. We started moving north, towards the flat land where we are now. I remember a time, when our Race was young and we were still making the Great Journey. We had been travelling for weeks upon weeks and the dusty plain seemed to have no end. We met some Furen along the road; they were coming from the east, from the Great Mountains. We shared our bread with them and, in return, they shared their wine.”

Granny Nat still remembered when she had to tell these stories to her grandchildren. They had hung onto every word, almost not believing that they were true. Now her grandchildren had all grown up, and it was the youngest generation, her great grandchildren, that was sitting at her feet, staring up at her with big, disbelieving eyes. Yes, a lot of things had changed in her lifetime. These little Drayons had been born into the New Transrune where the Furen had shook off the dominating influence of the Draygons and now ran a democratic Transrune. Never mind that the two races weren’t equal; they weren’t created equal. Equality is a privilege you have to work for. And, so far, no Draygon had worked hard enough to earn it. So Granny was relegated to telling ‘fictional, recreational tales’, as her children, the grandparents of this generation, called it, to the children, hoping that something would start seeping through their thick skulls. She sighed, it’s not that they were really stupid. But their minds were so filled with anti-Furen propaganda that there was very little space for any memories Granny might treasure. That didn’t stop her from telling it, though. There was always a chance of a miracle. ‘Miracles we can do, the impossible takes a little longer,’ Granny thought cynically, smiling softly at her little great grandchildren.

“Yes, it’s true. At a time we were not mortal enemies and talking to a Furen was normal, if maybe frowned upon. This didn’t change suddenly, the enmity between our Races evolved slowly. Both sides did wrong – stole someone’s pumpkins, entered someone’s territory without permission, settled next to the wrong river etc. This lead to retribution and soon people were being hurt, fathers murdered and whole villages wiped out. Soon it became a full out war between the Furen and the Draygons.”

Granny sighed, and little Stephanie piped up.

“Tell us again what you did in the war, Granny. Tell us about Robin Goodfellow and the Persuaders!” she demanded, having heard the story numerous times before, but, in the true spirit of children listening to stories of the old days, always ready to hear it again.

“Well, my child, at that time the whole world was plunged into war. Lots of people did really bad things, things they were later ashamed of. My parents’ generation, your great great grandparents, thought that since they had come from the Green Land, where everything was so great and wonderful, that they were better than the Furen and that they should rule over them. However, the Furen were also very independent and didn’t want the Draygons telling them what to do, especially as they had been in Transrune before the Draygon came on their Turtles,”

“Ships, Granny,” Taylor, the eldest, interrupted.

“Yes, of course. Ships. Anyway, the Furen fought back with bombs placed in the Top part of town,” synonymous to ‘Draygon part of town’ Nat thought, “and even battles if the Draygons started it.”

“Get to the part about the Resistance, Granny,” Stephanie insisted.

“Ah, yes. The Resistance. There was a group of people, children, really, of both Draygon and Furen descent, that decided they didn’t want this war to continue. The wanted to Persuade the adults to admit that everyone was equal. Foolish of them, really, the adults were in too deep. They had started to believe the lies,” the last part was said softly, almost as if to herself, but Taylor heard it, and looked at his great grandmother strangely, “This was lead mainly by Robin Goodfellow, a Furen, and a Draygon girl who’s name was never known.”

Nat continued the story, speaking a bit louder now, “They were actually quite impressive, for kids, and gathered lots of information of both Furen and Draygon attacks and plots. They stopped mass poisonings and always knew of the battles. They tried to do things behind the scenes as much as possible, but both sides started to suspect their existence.

One day, someone betrayed them and a Draygon patrol entered the Persuader’s headquarters in the middle of a meeting. All the Furen were killed on the spot, except for Robin Goodfellow. The floor was wet and red from blood,” some of the younger grandchildren looked slightly green around the gills, “and so many teenagers were killed on that night. Then the all Draygon kids except the girl-leader were beaten and sent home. Now the two leaders and the Draygon patrol were the only people alive in the house. The patrol were thinking of ways to make an example of them, to discourage others from trying anything similar. But, somehow, both escaped. Most theories say the Draygon girl distracted the guards attention so that Robin could escape, and as thanks he sent all the men of his family to save her. But however it happened, Robin Goodfellow went on to lead his people to rule the country as it is now. He is an old man now, as old as I am, but he is still fighting for equality between the Races.”

Granny sighed again and a silence fell over the room.

“That was two years before I married your great grandfather Josh Raymore, and the rest is, as they say, history.”

“But what happened to the Draygon girl? Is she still alive? Is she happy? Did she and Robin Goodfellow get married?” Stephanie asked.

“She probably married a good Draygon man and had lots of Draygon children, just like women were supposed to. Now, enough stories for tonight. You lot get to bed. Good night.”

The children stood up and filed out of the room, each planting a kiss on Granny’s withered cheek and murmuring a soft ‘Good night’. She smiled at all of them, and wished them sweet dreams. Taylor was last, and he looked at his granny for a long time. She met his gaze with her sharp, lively blue eyes. He took in all her wrinkles and her grey hair and whispered to her.

“Granny, were you part of the Resistance? Were you the unknown Draygon girl?”

“Why would you think that, my child? I’m just a middle class Draygon who has done nothing extraordinary in her life,” Natalie answered, seeming surprised.

But Taylor read another answer in her eyes.

“You are wrong, Granny. You have done extraordinary things“Thank you, Taylor. Now, you should be in bed, too.”

“’Night, Granny.”

“Sweet dreams, darling.”